I am jumping into kiteboarding. I have surfed, wakeboarded, and skateboarded before so i am somewhat accustomed to being on a board but have never used a kite. I have sailed so im thinking that would help as well. Im just looking for something to get started but i need it to last for a while so im trying to stay away from the real beginner stuff and look for something that i could use for a few years without upgrading. My beach i will be going to mainly is very rough with big waves to play on. It may be so ruff infact i have a feeling that ill have to learn on a calmer beach until i get the hang of my kite. But mainly im looking for a board that can handle ruff water and surf waves well. Can someone help point me in the right direction?

hey like said above..take lessons. It will make it cheaper, better and more fun overall.

I would not be afraid of getting "beginner" gear. There is really no such thing. Most kites are great, but you do want something little more forgiving in the beginning. It has nothing to do with beginner or not...but it will be easier to get started on it...even if you think you're the shit (sorry we see a lot of these posts here). Your board skills will only start helping you once you can control the kite. Kiteboarding...to most board riders surprise is mostly kite control.

So when that is said I fly Naish park and naish rides, and both those kites would be great for anything from newbie to an advanced rider.
For board..I am assuming you are talking about a directional board? I would say it depends on the wind and wave conditions, in addition to your weight and size. Many say get a bigger board in the beginning, but I'd say get something reasonably ok sized, but not too big.

Yeah - take lessons. And then talk to your instructor and local kiters for recommendations.
Also, tautologies is right, but there is one type of kite that you should avoid: a C-kite. There aren't that many of them, but they are less forgiving. (The Naish Torch is a C-kite).
And if you buy used. stick with 2008 and newer for better safety and wind range.
There are probably people who start on directional boards (surf board style), but it would be a lot easier to start out on a twin tip until you really get the kite flying down.

it doesn't really matter, kiteboarding is going to be radically different from almost anything you've done. only until you can control the kite, water start, and ride more than 10 ft at a time will other sports like surfing, wakeboarding etc start to help

one piece of advice I can give is when purchasing your first set of gear, know what you want to do. there are a bunch of branches of kiteboarding and they all have their own kites and boards that are more suited for it. for example wave kites generally aren't as good at jumping high, kite that are good at jumping high aren't good for doing wakeboarding type tricks, kites that are good at doing wake tricks aren't generally as good for wave riding...etc. there are some crossover kites and boards as well if you arent really motivated to progress and just want to mow the lawn

i would go ahead and buy one of these kites as your first kite, because they also happen to be the easiest to learn on, just because of how they behave. what you want in a wave kite also makes it great for beginners. for example lots of schools teach on the s-series or envy.

boards can be tricky because they affect how you ride and what you can ride in. for example surfboards that are flatter (less rocker) will plane faster and help you get going in less wind. but you will feel every bump and once the wind picks up it might be harder to get a grip. boards with more rocker (most surfboards) will be dredging most of the time until you have a good amount of power, but will probably feel the best once you're on the wave

there are kite-specific surfboards but theyre really expensive and the only real point to them is that theyre specifically made to be good for kiting, you can get the exact same shape as a "regular" surfboard and it might be cheaper. kite specific surfboards are generally put together better, since you will put your foot through a poly board a lot faster than an epoxy with a bamboo top (but you still will eventually)

thanks that some good advice on the kites. its hard to say exactly what style i want to ride before i even get started but im leaning toward wave riding. and what you said about feeling every bump on a surf board has kinda changed my mind. i want something as smooth as possible. but i guess once i get started i can have two or three boards depending on the weather of the waves. you guys been a great help. i organized a 6 hour lesson for tomorrow at miami beach! im jumping in head first and hopefully ill be able to hold my own and practice on my own once i get through the lesson tomorrow. it will include everything from wind theory to actually getting on the board.

e_deher wrote:i think you guys took it the wrong way....i was just trying to say ive been on a board before. you understood i am the king of boards lol.....or something like that

Yeah maybe..sorry we're used to the question about people feeling they will be better than anyone else.
You don't many lessons, but get the basic safety and control down, then anything else is basically you learning to ride faster. 6 hours n one day..you'll be spent
6 hours should be more than enough to get all the safety done..get you in the water, and maybe even up on a board. People are usually really tired after a few hours...as far as I've understood.